Roy Keane says Sir Alex Ferguson is still 'striving' for control and power at
Manchester United, but the former manager is no more than a face in the
crowd these days

Even though Manchester United’s succession strategy following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement was more Pyongyang than Premier League, Roy Keane might be surprised by the ‘control and power’ that his former manager now commands at Old Trafford.

“There’s massive ego involved in that. You have a power and control over people and you try to have it when you’re not even working with them.”

The context of Keane’s remarks cannot be ignored, with the Irishman determined to strike a blow against Ferguson, who he believes trampled on his reputation with a series of withering condemnations in his book.

But while the accusation that Ferguson is striving for control and power may be correct – and there is no evidence to suggest that he is – the reality is that the 71-year-old is now further out of the picture at Old Trafford than anyone could have imagined when he handed over the reins to David Moyes last May.

The fact that Ferguson hand-picked Moyes as his successor is perhaps at the root of Keane’s accusations.

When United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward claimed last year that the succession plan was ‘in the drawer’, few could have imagined that it would have amounted to ‘ask Fergie who he wants’.

In terms of control and power, Ferguson played the role of Kim Jong-il to perfection by choosing the man to take his job, but rather than being a sign of things to come, it appears that the Moyes appointment was Ferguson’s parting gift and his final significant contribution.

Six months on, United is a different club and Ferguson is no more than a face in the crowd.

Unlike Sir Matt Busby following his retirement, Ferguson does not have an office at Old Trafford or United’s Carrington training ground.

He has yet to pop his head around the dressing-room door, even though his role as a director – a non-executive director at that – gives him the right to congratulate or commiserate with Moyes’s players after a game.

Even the ambassadorial role he was given by the Glazer family has proved to be little more than ceremonial position, which will merely see him glad-hand sponsors across the globe.

When Wayne Rooney was agitating for a move away from United during the summer, the omnipresent figure of Ferguson was cited as the central factor in the player’s determination to leave.

The theory was that Ferguson, despite stepping down in favour of Moyes, would continue to carry the loudest and most powerful voice at Old Trafford, yet it has not been the case.

Of course, when Ferguson speaks, everyone still listens, but Moyes and Woodward now lead a new United and there is no wish to turn back the clock.

Ferguson’s power is not wielded within the club, but it is outside of Old Trafford that he continues to be a figure of authority, which is why television cameras quickly pick him out when he takes his seat in the directors’ box.

There is no escaping his presence, simply because of the statue in his image and the stand bearing his name which dominate the scene at Old Trafford.

But power and control? No, those days are gone, despite what Keane may believe.